The invention relates to an IC handler for sorting ICs and a contact cleaning method, particularly a contact cleaning mechanism for cleaning contacts to which terminals of ICs contact and a contact cleaning method.
FIG. 2 shows the construction of a conventional contact cleaning mechanism. An IC handler having the construction of a contact cleaning mechanism has been conventionally known as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 4-115081. An example of such a contact cleaning mechanism is shown along FIG. 2.
With the IC handler shown in FIG. 2, an IC 16 is sucked by an IC handler 15 and is conveyed onto a contact 18, while a pusher 17 presses the IC 16 to the contact 18, thereby measuring the IC 16. Upon completion of measurement of the IC 16, the pusher 17 rises so that an accommodation hand 19 sucks the IC 16 on the contact 18 to take out and convey it.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3, the contact 18 has a transferred attached matter 20 thereon. When the contact 18 is cleaned, a cylinder 14 pushes out a brush 13 toward the contact 18 and retracts the brush 13 from the contact 18 one time or plural times. As a result, the contact 18 is brushed and cleaned. That is, the transferred attached matter 20 (hereinafter referred to simply as transfer attachment) comprises solder, plating or the like, which is melted from leads of the IC 16 and remains on the contact 18.
The contact to which a conventional contact cleaning mechanism is applied is limited only to flat type packaging contacts having terminals which extend in two directions, wherein each terminal has a shape of a horseshoe and is arranged in a shape of teeth of a comb, as viewed from the side thereof.
Furthermore, with the conventional contact cleaning mechanism, the contact is brushed during the replacement of an IC pith another IC on the contact, so that time for replacement of the IC with another IC is reduced to the utmost, and hence it is very difficult to employ the conventional contact cleaning mechanism.
In view of the foregoing circumstances, it is an object of the invention to provide an IC handler provided with a contact cleaning mechanism capable of being applied to various contacts which are present for every ICs having various packages and capable of being easily applied to the contacts irrespective of the length of time for replacement of the IC with another IC relative to the contacts, and a contact cleaning method thereof.
To achieve the above object, a first aspect of the invention is to provide an IC handler which is a horizontal conveyance type and includes contacts 4 to which ICs 10 contact, said IC handler comprises contact cleaning chips 1 disposed outside the contacts 4 and made of polishing particles in the same shape as the ICs 10, wherein a transfer attachment is removed from the contacts 4 when contact cleaning chips 1 are conveyed to the contacts 4 so as to contact the 4.
It is a second aspect of the invention to provide an IC handler first conveyance means 5 for transferring a plurality of ICs 10 from trays on which the ICs 10 are placed to a supply shuttle 6 which is on standby at a first delivering position P1, said supply shuttle 6 conveying the ICs 10 to a second delivering position P2, second conveyance means 7 for conveying the ICs 10 positioned at the second delivering position P2 to contacts 4 and conveying the ICs 10, and also conveying the ICs, upon completion of measurement of the ICs 10, to an accommodation shuttle 8 which is on standby at the second delivering position P2, said accommodation shuttle 8 conveying the ICs 10 to a third delivering position P3, and third conveyance means 9 for sorting and accommodating the ICs 10 in an empty tray, said IC handler further comprising a first accommodation stage 2 disposed in a movable range of the first conveyance means 5, a second accommodation stage 3 disposed in a movable range of the third conveyance means 9, and contact cleaning chips 1 made of a material including polishing particles in the same shape as the ICs 10, wherein a transfer attachment is removed from the contacts 4 when the contact cleaning chips 1 placed on the first accommodation stage 2 are conveyed to the contacts 4 so as to contact the contacts 4, and the contact cleaning chips 1 are accommodated in the second accommodation stage 3.
It is a third aspect of the invention to provide a contact cleaning method in an IC handler comprising first conveyance means 5 for transferring a plurality of ICs 10 from trays on which the ICs 10 are placed to a supply shuttle 6 which is on standby at a first delivering position P1, said supply shuttle 6 conveying the ICs 10 to a second delivering position P2, second conveyance means 7 for conveying the ICs 10 positioned at the second delivering position P2 to contacts 4 and conveying ICs 10, and also conveying the ICs, upon completion of measurement of the ICs 10, to an accommodation shuttle 8 which is on standby at the second delivering position P2, said accommodation shuttle 8 conveying the ICs 10 to a third delivering position P3, third conveyance means 9 for sorting and accommodating the ICs 10 in an empty tray, a first accommodation stage 2 disposed in a movable range of the first conveyance means 5, a second accommodation stage 3 disposed in a movable range of the third conveyance means 9, said method comprising the steps of placing contact cleaning chips 1 made of a material including polishing particles in the same shape as the ICs 10 to the first accommodation stage 2, transferring the contact cleaning chips 1 to the supply shuttle 6 which is on standby at the first delivering position P1 by the first conveyance means 5, conveying the contact cleaning chips 1 to the second accommodation stage 2 by the supply shuttle 6, conveying the contact cleaning chips 1 positioned at the second delivering position P2 to the contacts 4 so as to contact the contacts 4 by the second conveying means 7 so that the contact cleaning chips 1 remove a transfer attachment from the contacts 4, and also conveying the contact cleaning chips 1 removed the transfer attachment to the accommodation shuttle 8 which is on standby at the second delivering position P2, conveying the contact cleaning chips 1 to the third delivering position P3 by the accommodation shuttle 8, and accommodating the contact cleaning chips 1 in the second accommodation stage 3 by the third conveyance means 9.
A fourth aspect of the invention is an IC handler wherein the contacts 4 correspond to a CSP/BGA package type IC and the contact cleaning chips 1 correspond to the same CSP/BGA package type IC.
The reference numerals set forth above are provided for the convenience of understanding the invention with reference to the drawings but they do not limit the invention.